Father-Son Team's First Race Wins Key West Offshore Event

Father and son driving team of William Moore (left) and Bobby Moore, walked away with the Superboat win in Nuff Respect.
Photo by Andy Newman

KEY WEST, Florida Keys -- Racing for the first time together, veteran offshore powerboat throttleman Bobby Moore teamed with his 21-year-old son William to garner a Superboat class win and overall top honors Sunday, May 19, at the Key West Grand Prix.

The younger Moore was thrust into the driver's seat of the 46-foot Nuff Respect, after owner Jim Robinson of Miami Beach, Fla., could not travel to Key West because of a European business trip.

Father and son took the lead at the start and ran the 4,200 hp, Mercruiser-powered catamaran at 94.66 mph to turn in the best average speed of the afternoon among 28 boats that crossed the start line of the triangular course off the island's southern coast.

"We dropped the hammer at the start and we were gone," said Bobby Moore, 55, of Miramar, Fla. "We checked out and lapped everybody except Alcone (Motorsports). It (the win) was a piece of cake for us."

Moore finished almost three minutes ahead of Newport Beach, Calif., racer Matt Alcone whose 91.36 mph speed was second best for the day. Alcone won last November's world championship in Superboat and his 117.25 mph average speed at last September's national championship is a record.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., driver Charlie Haimes, a three-time world champion, survived the attrition of the Pro I class, by finishing the course in Restore Marine Products, while all his competitors suffered mechanical difficulties and were forced out.

"The game plan worked," Haimes, 32, said. "You don't finish, you don't win. Everybody can go out gangbusters and be out front in the beginning, but if you're not there at the end it's not going to happen."

Dave DiPetrillo, who coordinates medical and safety operations for Super Boat Racing, said there were no race-related accidents or injuries at Sunday's event. A National Weather Service forecast that called for winds 15 to 20 mph and waves up to four feet high never materialized as racers enjoyed a moderate breeze with seas up to 2 feet.

Racing is scheduled to return to Key West Nov. 3-10 when SBR teams up with the American Power Boat Association (APBA) to stage a combined world championship.